


Hermann and Mom

by puff22_2001



Series: Little Family [2]
Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Angst, Canon Disabled Character, Disabled Character, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Kid Fic, Kid Hermann, Kid Newt, Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-03-07
Packaged: 2018-01-14 22:36:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1281325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/puff22_2001/pseuds/puff22_2001
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hermann learns that loving more doesn't make you love less.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hermann and Mom

**Author's Note:**

  * For [telm_393](https://archiveofourown.org/users/telm_393/gifts).



> I absolutely loved telm_393's "Little Ghosts" story, so I wrote two sequels! I strongly recommend reading the original story before reading either this piece or "Newt and Dad" or else you will lose a lot of lovely background to this work.

Hermann sat on the swing and moved with idleness, his leg aching particularly bad that day. They’d always known that his MS would reappear as he aged. Yet, he’d thought, with a foolish hope, that it wouldn’t return until his twenties at least.

Instead, he’d begun to show signs within just a year of when he and Newt mysteriously de-aged to children. In his first life, he hadn’t begun to suffer from the disease until his mid-twenties. It appeared that having had for it so long as an adult had quickened its return in Hermann as a child. At least that was what Mako said, and Mako knew everything.

Well, Hermann amended in his head as he rocked back and forth, not _everything_. If he was being quite honest, Hermann himself knew more than Mako and Raleigh, his and Newt’s adoptive parents. But the small mathematician knew numbers and equations, while Mako knew how to _live_. He’d learned that after the two rangers had chosen to raise the boys as their own.

Though he didn’t say it much, Hermann was quite glad that they’d become his parents. He remembered his “old” life with sharp clarity, and it often brought angry tears to his eyes. Lars Gottlieb was a hard man with no regard for the whims of his children. Hermann, a prodigy even among his genius siblings, was his special project and burden. Doctor Gottlieb did not care a whit that he taught his brilliant son to hate him. As long as Hermann was the best and showed only respect, the man did not change his ways.

Rose Gottlieb had been quite different. Though Hermann still missed her with a terrible ache, that was not new at all. His mother had been a frail woman and died when Hermann was six. He’d cried for days until his father had slapped him hard enough to leave a mark.

Hermann and Rose had been twin souls and everyone knew it. Dietrich and Karla bonded over their hatred of Hermann, the Chosen One, and Bastian somehow won the little love in Doctor Gottlieb’s heart. Hermann was his mother’s treasure, and her loss haunted him as it must have when he was grown.

“Hi, Hermann. It’s nearly lunchtime.” Mako interrupted his thoughts and startled him out of his sorrow. Her short hair had grown to her shoulders in the four years since the end of the Kaiju War, but she still streaked it with bright blue. Hermann preferred her natural black—the blue reminded him too much of his past.

“Oh, all right. Is Newt back from his lessons yet?” Newt was relearning guitar that summer while Hermann took piano. Mako and Raleigh had asked if they wanted to take any extra lessons besides their advanced schooling. Both had jumped at the chance to relearn the skills that they had lost. Newt chose guitar, Japanese, Theremin, and astronomy (at Hermann’s insistence). Hermann chose astronomy, cooking, and an upper-level university Economics course to add to piano.

Choosing his instrument had been both quite easy and agonizing. Piano had been his mother’s delight and she had persuaded Hermann to take it on as well. To his dismay, Hermann _hated_ the piano. He loved the _theory_ of it and he had the hands for it. But his frustration at never being as good as his mother—or good enough at all for his father—took away any joy he might have found in the act. He was a perfectionist by nature and environment, and he hated to spoil something that had been once pure.

Yet, when Mako had suggested another instrument, Hermann insisted on the piano as a way to honor his mother. It pleased him to learn that Mako was also a pianist, and she often helped him with his lessons as his mother had. When he poked at that memory, however, it felt like a betrayal, and he ignored it in favor of letting Mako lead his hands in his arpeggios.

“Raleigh just left to get him.” Mako said as she handed Hermann his cane. He’d hated the thing until Newt pointed out that he could weaponize the aid against bullies, which both boys had all over again. Not that Hermann would ever stoop to physical force; he’d never disappoint Mako and Raleigh that way.

“Is Father still taking us fishing this weekend?" Hermann said with an unconscious affection before he winced. He’d never had a real bond with his male birth parent, and Raleigh had slipped into the role with ease. Hermann had taken to calling Raleigh “Father” without even noticing until Newt had mentioned it.

The change had thrilled Raleigh, though Hermann had caught a brief look of sadness on Mako’s face. Newt had called Mako “Mom” within weeks of their new arrangement and eventually warmed to Raleigh as his new “Dad.” But Hermann had a mother that he loved still; to call anyone else that brought a sharp pain to his heart not unlike the ache in his leg.

Mako, to her credit, remained unfazed. “As far as I know. Or, to put it another way, as long as Newt doesn’t tackle his lesson mates again.” Mako held out her hand to lead Hermann inside. He’d asked her to help him with a particularly hard piece of music when she had the chance, and she'd finished her work for the PPDC for the time being. Hermann smiled as he sat at the small piano with Mako by his side.

They worked in relative silence for a few minutes as Hermann plunked away. His grin was infectious when he finally managed the melisma that had plagued him for days. Mako smiled back and grasped Hermann’s arm, ever-mindful of his sensitivity to touch.

“You’re doing great, Hermann.”

“Only with your help . . . Mom.” Hermann said with care. He’d never called his own mother that: she had been “Mother” since the day that he could form the word. But Hermann could see Mako filling that role in some way. His mother had always wanted him to be happy and, with their little family, Hermann was.

Mako’s eyes swam for a moment as she pulled Hermann into a careful hug. Hermann felt her hands tighten in his jacket, and his own fingers clutched at Mako’s shirt. She would never be Rose Gottlieb, but she _was_ Mako Mori. That was good enough, and Hermann knew how much his mother would have loved Mako—just as he loved her more and more.


End file.
